March 6, 2002
A review by Alan Nicoll
It's not politically correct to call a cripple a cripple, but in speaking of the movie, My Left Foot, the use of this brutal term seems somehow appropriate. If my reader is offended, I apologize.
This is a great "cripple movie." It tells the story of Christy Brown, who is afflicted with cerebral palsy. Despite this handicap, he goes on to become a famous artist and to write his autobiography. Christy is not a hide-in-the-closet, make-no-waves kind of cripple, and indeed, his family wouldn't let him be that. Around age seven it is discovered by his family that Christy can write by holding a piece of chalk with his left foot. This so excites his stereotypical Irish father that he takes Christy down to his favorite pub and introduces him to his drinking buddies as his son. This is a memorable moment in a movie that has many.
Christy refuses to hide in the closet or otherwise behave like a good cripple should. He drinks, he smokes, he swears, he makes advances to beautiful women. Sometimes he uses his affliction like a club to control others, when he truly is embarrassing to all around him. Above all, he refuses to accept that he cannot lead a full life. Right on, Christy!
Christy is a marvelous character, but also marvelous is his family, and most notably his mother. The fact is that all of them truly love him and go to extraordinary lengths to include him in their activities, to help him feel that he's not an embarrassment or a burden to them. He literally is a burden, when he has to be carried upstairs, but no one in the family ever has an unkind word for Christy. Their solicitude is astonishing. One is inclined to wonder what would have become of Christy if he had been born into a stereotypical American family.
Seeing how his family loves him is enlightening. Seeing what Christy can accomplish with his presumably limited means invites the viewer to examine his own life and see what he has accomplished with his more usual complement of gifts. It is a rare viewer indeed who can look into this mirror and not feel abashed at how little he has done. At least, that's how I felt.
Daniel Day Lewis gives an astonishing performance, definitely earning his Oscar for his portrayal of Christy Brown, though, as seems to be the rule these days, all the acting is excellent. The score by Elmer Bernstein is also noteworthy. This movie is a gem.